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So as I've mentioned once, twice, or twenty times... I'm a teacher. In my first couple years of teaching I got sick quite often, but after a few years of being around children regularly I have not gotten so much as a cold the past 3 years...now that I'm back in school for the first time since becoming positive, I already have a nasty cold and had to call out sick for the first time in 3 years. As we are only in the 4th week of school, I'm wondering if I should expect to get sick more often since my immune system is 'weakened' . I'm now UD, and CD4 is in the 500 range. I'm just curious what others have experienced and if I should get those sub plans ready for the next time

Sweetheart, I have 1785 cd4 count. I just got over 10 days of an upper respiratory infection. There were times back when I had 300 cd4 count that I had the same illness and got over it in half the time.

Jim, I'd suggest that you get yourself some antibacterial gel that you can use on your hands without having to actually wash them with soap and water. Keep it on/in your desk and use it often. You can get pump-action bottles that you could use quickly and discretely without the kids hardly noticing.

I've also suggested to my daughter that she keeps and uses hand gel in her classroom (she teaches 2nd grade) and she's not even poz.

It also pays to keep your hands away from your face, particularly your eyes (rubbing your eyes is a great way to pick up the flu), nose and mouth.

While you shouldn't be any more prone to picking up bugs from the kids than anyone else, it's still a good idea to avoid what you can. Kids are germ-laden little beings, even the adorable ones. They're equal opportunity infectors - you don't have to be poz to pick some bug up from them.

I don't know about in the States but here in the UK, all hospitals now have antibacterial gel dispensers in the foyers, at the entrance to every ward, and also at every bedside. There are huge posters and small signs everywhere reminding people to use the gel. Infections - including the dread MRSA - have been dramatically reduced in UK hospitals as a result.

I have a big bottle (600ml) of something called Defendol - hospital grade antibacterial hand gel - that I use to re-fill smaller bottles (50ml) that I keep in my bag or jacket for use when I'm out shopping. The handles on shopping carts are great places from which to pick up cold and flu viruses.

I've found that aside from the obvious convenience of not having to find a place to wash my hands with soap and water while out and about, the hand gel doesn't dry my skin out like repeated washing does.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Jim, I'd suggest that you get yourself some antibacterial gel that you can use on your hands without having to actually wash them with soap and water. Keep it on/in your desk and use it often. You can get pump-action bottles that you could use quickly and discretely without the kids hardly noticing.

I have a big bottle (600ml) of something called Defendol - hospital grade antibacterial hand gel - that I use to re-fill smaller bottles (50ml) that I keep in my bag or jacket for use when I'm out shopping. The handles on shopping carts are great places from which to pick up cold and flu viruses.

Thanks for the advice! I actually have tons of the instant sanitzer for the kids, but have gotten quite lazy about using it myself....I haven't had a cold or gotten sick at all in 3 years, so I've slacked off....I'll just try to be more cognizant of using it often.

I don't know about in the States but here in the UK, all hospitals now have antibacterial gel dispensers in the foyers, at the entrance to every ward, and also at every bedside. There are huge posters and small signs everywhere reminding people to use the gel. Infections - including the dread MRSA - have been dramatically reduced in UK hospitals as a result.

Didn't the movie Contagion claim we touch our faces up to 3,000 times per day. I thought that seemed like a lot, but we are fixing hair, rubbing gunk out of our eyes, scratching nose, resting our head on our hands, etc. Still seems like a lot, but probably right.

I'm with Ann. Have gel handy (especially being a teacher!) Otherwise, thorough handwashing. Agree with the no touchy of the eyes, nose, mouth, nail biting, cuticle gnawing, etc. and while in the mindset of prevention of bad seasonal stuff--get a flu shot. Oh yes, at work, have some antimicrobial wipes to periodically hit the copier, the common restroom doorplates/handles and, in your case--depending on classroom activities and hardware -- keyboards, door handles, shared markers, etc. It's staggering how many men/boys and women/girls, don't think to wash their paws. I've had fewer respiratory infections, of all sorts, post-diagnosis than pre-.

Since I was dxd and put on meds, two years ago, I have not been sick at all. That being said, I use hand gel and am insane when it comes to washing my hands. I travel often and carry sanitizer with me and a couple of face masks should I be sitting next to someone hacking up a lung.

Logged

Diagnosed in May of 2010 with teh AIDS.

PCP Pneumonia . CD4 8 . VL 500,000

TRIUMEQ - VALTREX - FLUOXETINE - FENOFIBRATE - PRAVASTATIN - CIALIS

Numbers consistent since 12/2010 - VL has remained undetectable and CD4 is anywhere from 275-325

I never do any of these precautions, and I also take public transport 100% of the time and get to touch all of those lovely, germ-ridden metal poles you have to grab onto to keep from falling over, plus exit/entrance hand rails. There's just no point. I'd have to be scrubbing myself down constantly.

Flu sucks though, so I have always religiously gotten that shot yearly.

I've had respiratory infections yearly since I was a kid so I think there's not much to be done.

I've always found it very advantageous to obtain all of my medical facts from Hollywood films.

Once again, I did some searching after posting. It seems many believe the 3,000 claim is probably not correct, but there aren't a lot of studies on this. I found this:

"Wash your handsDr. Cramer on March 29th, 2012Rhinoviruses are one of the primary causes of the common cold. What is the best way of stopping yourself from getting a cold from these viruses?

According to Julie Ackermanís book on the topic , exactly what we have been telling your for years: wash your hands with soap and water, and to stop touching your face!

Why? Rhinoviruses are naked viruses, which mean that hand sanitizers have very little effect on their ability to infect. A study out in 2010 looked at the differences in individual who were required to use hand sanitizers every three hours. Essentially their rate of infection was the same as individuals who did nothing to prevent infection (in the light of full disclosure, this study WAS funded by the Dial Corporation). This is actually backed up by the CDC which states that the best thing you can do is to physically wash your hands with soap and water. Hand sanitizers should only be used if soap and water is not available.

There is also a discrepancy in the Dial study from above, in that they state these finding are true for other viruses, but gave no documentation regarding those viruses. Against organisms that have either an envelope (Influenza/Flu viruses) or plasma membranes (all bacteria), hand sanitizers DO work effectively kill these organisms. They just donít work well to stop naked viruses from infecting.

Secondly, rhinovirus can be transmitted by contacting a contaminated surface (a hand, or fomite) and then touching your eye and having virus flushed into the exact environment it wants to infect (it grows best at the lower temperatures of the sinus and upper respiratory cavity). We touch our face about 200 to 600 times a day (The movie Contagion overstated this for dramatic purposes I think).

A week ago I had my first "illness" since dxd with HIV. Guess what? It was a cold!

Been pretty active during the weekend and Monday I came down with a stuffy nose and fatigue, no fever however. Slept a lot for 2 days and then it got better from there. The only difference pre HIV I could possibly notice was that I was more tired and it took maybe an extra day to completely clear up.

I didnt take any OTC meds for the cold, just tried to relax, sleep and drink a lot of water.